NEW ORLEANS — In light of the anti-gay slurs of 49ers cornerback Chris Culliver — he has since apologized — the issue of acceptance of an openly-gay player in the NFL has again surfaced.

“For me, am I gay? No,’’ Justin Tuck said yesterday, promoting the NFL Characters Unite documentary to air Friday night on USA Network. “Do I have any problems with being friends or teammates with someone who has decided to be gay? No. All we care about is having teammates being able to help us win football games and be champions. If we had a gay teammate who was going to do that, I don’t have any problems with it.

“If there is a gay football player I hope there comes a time when they’re comfortable to come out and say they’re openly gay. I hope this league and this society will accept it. Do I think it’s going to be any time soon? No, I don’t. I don’t think it is an issue yet. It will become an issue when somebody does come out and say ‘I’m gay.’ ’’